Electrolysis

[P-man]

Can the process of electrolysis (of water) be sped up by a catalyst? Could the reaction be made more efficient by one?

[Turtle]

___Are you electrolyzing water to recover the gasses or for plating metal? I have tried both.
___When I experimented with this, I at first added table salt to the water to increase the conductivity. In later experiments I used drain clog crystals in the solution(the chemical name slips my mind at the moment). The latter is extremely caustic; use all proper lab safety procedures.
___In general, many variations in the electrolyte have utility. In some electroplating, the metal for deposition is in the electrolyte & not one of the electrodes.
___Please do tell us your experiment parameters .

PS Sodium Hydroxide is the chemical; otherwise known as lye.
http://www.answers.com/topic/sodium-hydroxide

[P-man]

It's to make hydrogen to run a fuel cell.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by P-man

It's to make hydrogen to run a fuel cell.

___In that case, sodium hydroxide is the one I found recommended in literature I researched. Something about making more hydrogen available. I was using a small volume of water ( about 2 US gallons) with sodium hydroxide & low voltage (about 9 to 12 volts). In one experiment collecting the hydrogen, it took about 6 hours to collect 2 liter. I don't know the pressure as this was a home experiment. I inverted a 2 liter bottle full of water over the hydrogen electrode & it took 6 hours to displace the water.
___As hydrogen is highly flammable I cannot recommend any larger aparatus or higher pressures than I described. Try Googling electrolysis.

[Zilali]

Try lowering the P.h. or just heating up the water.

[P-man]

What will lowering the p.H. do? And what will heating the water do? If it works then great because my water is coming from the fuel cell... at 93 degrees Celcius.

[Jay-qu]

lowering the pH means that there is more H+ ions that can be reduced into hydrogen. If you heat the water that should lower the pH but not much

[P-man]

How can I lower the p.H.?

[Jay-qu]

Acid

[P-man]

Cool. Will the acid affect the purity of the gases produced? That is what I am worried about, you see, for the fuel cell they have to be as pure as possible.